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So this is how it works:

Hammerheads sit and get their cover save. Crisis suits sit behind them and so I need just 1 piece of cover for my 3rd crisis suit team.

My fire warrior units usually sit in corners and try to look happy and non-threatening. Occasionally they kill something, but usually they just markerlight things.

Sniper drones deploy far from each other, and pick off anything they can...and markerlight things.

Crisis suits JSJ and spam death.

Piranhas are sacrifice units, designed to stop assaults; but are mobile enough to go out and kill things.

Sometimes I put 1 fusion gun into a squadron, but it's proven less effective that way so I run 1 ablative piranha (to eat lascannon hits) then jump out and melta something annoying.

I've given up on multi-trackers for now. They might go back in, depends on what the local folks do.

Kroot/hound units are designed to grab objectives and tarpit/assault people.

They're really annoying in woods. No, I'm a MARINE!

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2000 Pts - Tau Empire Roster - Tau 5th Edition

1 Commander Shas'el @ 90 Pts
Hard-wired Blacksun Filter; Missile Pod; Plasma Rifle; Multi-Tracker

3 Crisis Battlesuit @ 186 Pts
Missile Pod; Plasma Rifle; Multi-Tracker

3 Crisis Battlesuit @ 186 Pts
Missile Pod; Plasma Rifle; Multi-Tracker

3 Crisis Battlesuit @ 186 Pts
Missile Pod; Plasma Rifle; Multi-Tracker

5 Fire Warrior @ 85 Pts
Add Shas'ui; Pulse Rifle (x5)
1 Shas'ui @ [35] Pts
Markerlight; Hard-wired Target Lock; Pulse Rifle

5 Fire Warrior @ 85 Pts
Add Shas'ui; Pulse Rifle (x5)
1 Shas'ui @ [35] Pts
Markerlight; Hard-wired Target Lock; Pulse Rifle

10 Kroot Carnivore Squad @ 118 Pts
Add Kroot Hounds; Kroot Rifle (x10)
8 Kroot Hounds @ [48] Pts

10 Kroot Carnivore Squad @ 118 Pts
Add Kroot Hounds; Kroot Rifle (x10)
8 Kroot Hounds @ [48] Pts

2 Piranha Light Skimmer @ 140 Pts
Burst Cannon (x2); Gun Drones (x2); Seeker Missle (x2)
2 Gun Drones @ [0] Pts
Twin Linked Pulse Carbines

3 Piranha Light Skimmer @ 225 Pts
Burst Cannon (x1); Fusion Blaster (x2); Gun Drones (x3); Seeker Missle (x2); Target Lock (x1); Targeting Array (x2)
2 Gun Drones @ [0] Pts
Twin Linked Pulse Carbines

1 Sniper Drone Team @ 240 Pts
Drone Controller; Networked Markerlight; Pulse Pistol; Stealth Field Generator; Targeting Array; Sniper Drone Team; Sniper Drone Team
3 Sniper Drones @ [0] Pts
Rail Rifle and Target Lock (x3); Stealth Field Generator; Targeting Array
1 Sniper Drone Team @ [80] Pts
Drone Controller; Networked Markerlight; Pulse Pistol; Stealth Field Generator; Targeting Array
3 Sniper Drones @ [0] Pts
Rail Rifle and Target Lock (x3); Stealth Field Generator; Targeting Array
1 Sniper Drone Team @ [80] Pts
Drone Controller; Networked Markerlight; Pulse Pistol; Stealth Field Generator; Targeting Array
3 Sniper Drones @ [0] Pts
Rail Rifle and Target Lock (x3); Stealth Field Generator; Targeting Array

1 Hammerhead Gunship @ 170 Pts
Railgun; Smart Missile System; Disruption Pod; Landing Gear; Target Lock; Targeting Array

1 Hammerhead Gunship @ 170 Pts
Railgun; Smart Missile System; Disruption Pod; Landing Gear; Target Lock; Targeting Array

Total Roster Cost: 1999

Couple notes/questions:

You have 5 Markerlights to use your 4 Seeker Missiles on - 2 of which are extremely easy to make go away, and the other 3 means that you're committing the Sniper Drones' shooting at the same target which may not be optimal.

The Hammerheads don't have Multi-Trackers. Yes, I know your intention is to use the Disruption Pod to gain the same save as SMF in 5th, but the ability to still move 6" and fire all weapons is going to be a bit key - don't you think?

oh yeah... and good luck with KP missions (but pretty much all Tau are screwed for KP)

The markerlights are there to increase the crisis suits, actually. Anything I get off the seekers is a bonus, not a required part of the army.

The seekers are there for when I'm firing the FW teams at a vehicle and my piranhas are downstream. As most opponents are marines, the sniper drones get fired at marines--and I don't mind pummelling marines with seekers. Often as not, if I can see just ONE assault marine with my FW and a sniper team; I can dump 3 markerlight shots into the marines then drop him with the 3 sniper shots. Then fire 3 seekers into the hidden rest of the assault marines and usually kill 3.

You know I'm a sneaky git. There's the reasoning.

KP missions aren't that bad. The HQ and Crisis Units are 9 of my KP (out of 14 others that I do have a good chance at losing) that I almost never lose. Piranhas survive against bolters, and with hammerheads around taking in the lascannon shots...and cover saves...while not impossible to kill, it is nice. It's easy to put multi-tracking onto the hammerheads, but with the removal of most terrain as LOS blocking...what do I need to move for again? I have a 72" range. I can hit ya.

Besides, you've played my tau before I revamped them (thanks again!) and how fun was it? At least I was vulnerable to CC and I was pretty thin on the ground, and on vehicles. +2 piranhas, +1 kroot unit, +1 FW unit, +3 crisis suits.

It's a really sound list. The problem I've been trying to get around for 5th ed Tau is the scoring units being troops. FW's are either super expensive in Devilfish, or extremely vulnerable on the ground. While my Kroot usually do very well for themselves, they are not durable or reliable enough to claim objectives. It looks to me like you're either not worried about this, or expecting the Kroot to survive. I'm sure the hounds help out alot in combat. I guess if you blast the opponent off the board, it's not really an issue either.

k0v wrote:It's a really sound list. The problem I've been trying to get around for 5th ed Tau is the scoring units being troops. FW's are either super expensive in Devilfish, or extremely vulnerable on the ground. While my Kroot usually do very well for themselves, they are not durable or reliable enough to claim objectives. It looks to me like you're either not worried about this, or expecting the Kroot to survive. I'm sure the hounds help out alot in combat. I guess if you blast the opponent off the board, it's not really an issue either.

You can't get around the problem of troops=scoring units.

You also can't get around the problem of Tau troops are crap, and KP screws Tau (among many other armies).

I've "lost" KP games even when I've tabled my enemy, because I lost 10 KP to his (grand total) 9.

So you have to be very careful with what you've got, and it sucks to have to play like you give a crap if something dies.

Ever play with a bully when you were a kid, and you knew that if you killed his Cobra Commander he'd punch your lights out?

That's how 5th edition plays. With the game system being the bully, and the punchout being the stupid scenario.

It's fun, really.

Really.

What?

fastest way to lose with Tau is to take kroot

No way!

This list is almost exactly what me and a friend have been playing under 5th ed rules with. It's doing pretty well.

We've been using the 3 man stealth team with double marker drones for laughs. Its not bad and actually plays a better game against orks than the third crisis team, but both rigs are working well.

For armchair critics who haven't played any 5th games, you don't need to run all over the place scoring 4 or 5 objectives to win recon. With firepower like this (for 5th edition, 9 crisis 9 sniper and 2 HH will peace out 'troops' faster than you can blink) You just kill scorers, and defend the objectives that are near your own deployment.

Can you find points to blacksun the hammerheads Stelek? Going second on dawn of war and popping their transports/heavy armor on turn 1 is a power move.

We aren't even playing total annihilation in my group. Its just broken, and its either gonna appear as a fixed version, or we will ban it locally if it went to print as is.

The kroot will survive, they were born to own orks, and they do. Thehod's comment is lol if he is talking abut 5th edition.

If you haven't played lots of games yet Stelek, I can regale you of many games... KOS orks, horde orks, multi-wing DA, rhinowall DA, IG, drop pod choppy BT. Been doing well in take and hold, passable in recon, it seems to like pitched battle and dawn of war a lot better than spearhead. Something about that WIDE spread that makes it play better than all bunched up

Yeah I can, Shep. I often drop a couple hounds and add what I need.

Usually I drop the 2nd FW squad for other stuff, since almost everything else is better than FW. lol they get shot off the table if there's not a better target around.

Regale me, I'm all ears. Put it up in the battle reports section? I should too I suppose. Got any Eldar or nids experience? Falcons with building cover saves and Eldrad sitting behind is sooo annoying.

I can't judge the effectiveness of the list having no experience with IMO the crummy 5th edition rules I've seen. So two questions:

1. Is the list boring to play? It looks like you aren't even moving anymore which means looking forward to 1 phase out of 3. Jumping in front of troops and back again seems even more boring and frustrating than before.

2. Can you make a decent list without kroot? I've never played with them and my 5K of painted Tau don't have a single one.

TIA

I'll write up some mini-batreps today... I'll put the link right here

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/210627.page

Dal'yth Dude wrote:1. Is the list boring to play? It looks like you aren't even moving anymore which means looking forward to 1 phase out of 3. Jumping in front of troops and back again seems even more boring and frustrating than before.

It can be, depends what army you are facing.

I usually never JSJ around my troops--they can still see your crisis suits.

I JSJ from behind my landed hammerheads, then back again.

Dal'yth Dude wrote:2. Can you make a decent list without kroot? I've never played with them and my 5K of painted Tau don't have a single one.

Yes you can. It relies entirely on shooting the enemy dead. I've found the basic FW is just so much junk, so I generally only take 1 unit. You should note most of my army is effectively invisible, so you have vehicles to shoot and 1 min sized FW squad. Then there's the Kroot. So you can shoot them, but in 5th edition that's usually a bad idea since they tend to have 3+ cover saves. Even if you do so, my army is still plinking you to death and you aren't degrading my firepower (meaning you'll lose eventually).

So I bring two big kroot squads for two reasons: Tau armies. Being able to CC, however briefly, someone. I added in all the dogs because dogs crunch your face in (I5). Often as not I drop the 2nd FW squad, add the wargear everyones asked me about, and up my dog count by 1 per squad.

I typically run 3 squads of FW two with transports both capped, a Shas'O and bodyguards PR/FB at least 6 stealthsuits with FB, 3 broadsides, 1 ionhead, 1 pathfinder team (which the transportless FW team typically rides in their devilfish) and 3 battlesuits in a "suicide" build TW flamers and missile pods for if they survive. I've lost 1 game so far and I've played a game every weekend since the edition arrived (at least).

I'd bring kroot were it not for the fact that I hate pulling out the models, although even then if I'm playing orks or eldar I'm bringing at least 20 to stop flank charges...err...marches.

I see a lot of Tau players complain that Fire Warriors are no good, but I frankly just dont see it. Troop choices are, for almost every army, the weakest units in your list. Firewarriors make up for generally poor stats with a rather remarkable standard troop weapon. Kroot are cheap and effective - I've seen successful armies built around them almost entirely, and I've seen small units of Kroot put to good use in larger shootier Tau forces.

This thread is a year old and when stelek still trolled the wastes. Pro tip check the date before you post

glowgos wrote:This thread is a year old and when stelek still trolled the wastes. Pro tip check the date before you post

It's still a valid thread, as are all old threads. As an aisde, stelek recently unleashed a much more updated version on his blog here:

http://yesthetruthhurts.blogspot.com/

but for convenience I am going to post it here:


Stelek's Tau Gunline (Foot Army)

So, got nagged a bit and so here it is:

2000 Pts - Tau Empire Roster - Gunline

1 Commander Shas'el @ 90 Pts
Hard-wired Blacksun Filter; Missile Pod; Plasma Rifle; Multi-Tracker

3 Crisis Battlesuit @ 186 Pts
Missile Pod; Plasma Rifle; Multi-Tracker

3 Crisis Battlesuit @ 186 Pts
Missile Pod; Plasma Rifle; Multi-Tracker

3 Crisis Battlesuit @ 186 Pts
Missile Pod; Plasma Rifle; Multi-Tracker

6 Fire Warrior @ 60 Pts
Pulse Rifle (x6)

6 Fire Warrior @ 60 Pts
Pulse Rifle (x6)

10 Kroot Carnivore Squad @ 100 Pts
Add Kroot Hounds; Kroot Rifle (x10)
5 Kroot Hounds @ [30] Pts

8 Pathfinder @ 206 Pts
Markerlight (x8); Pulse Carbine (x8)
1 Devilfish @ [110] Pts
Burst Cannon; Smart Missile System; Disruption Pod; Landing Gear; Marker Beacon; Targeting Array

8 Pathfinder @ 206 Pts
Markerlight (x8); Pulse Carbine (x8)
1 Devilfish @ [110] Pts
Burst Cannon; Smart Missile System; Disruption Pod; Landing Gear; Marker Beacon; Targeting Array

3 Broadside Battlesuit @ 240 Pts
Twin linked Railgun; Smart Missile System; Advanced Stabilisation System

3 Broadside Battlesuit @ 240 Pts
Twin linked Railgun; Smart Missile System; Advanced Stabilisation System

3 Broadside Battlesuit @ 240 Pts
Twin linked Railgun; Smart Missile System; Advanced Stabilisation System

Total Roster Cost: 2000

First draft. I haven't gotten many armies across the board against this, and those I have...well, they haven't done very well.

Use the Broadsides like Oblits, and the Crisis Suits like mini-Oblits.

Keep the FW units off the board, when they show up from reserve...get on a Pathfinder transport.

Use the pathfinders to let you boost shots and remove cover saves where needed, and above all...deny mobility to the enemy.

Then it's a shooting match and you will win those.





There's a reason people still go to his blog, it's for armies like the above...

Auretious Taak.